Food Safety, Environmental Hygiene, Agriculture and Fisheries
a round-the-clock service for collecting sick and dead wild birds. In 2013, only one of some 15,200 wild bird carcasses received by the AFCD was confirmed to be H5 Al-infected.
On 31 March 2013, the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the Mainland notified the World Health Organisation (WHO) of the first three cases of human infection with avian influenza A (H7N9). Since then, the government has maintained close liaison with the relevant authorities in the Mainland to assess the development of the disease and discuss the response measures required to ensure the safety of live poultry and poultry products supplied to Hong Kong and to safeguard public health. On top of the safeguards and monitoring already in place, the government has stepped up surveillance against H7N9 and taken additional preventive measures. These include (a) taking additional faecal and drinking water samples at live poultry retail outlets to test for H1 to H16 virus; (b) stepping up inspection of live poultry retail outlets to ensure compliance with the special licensing or tenancy conditions on Al control; (c) cleansing of common parts of FEHD markets with disinfectant three times daily; (d) daily cleansing of live poultry market stalls after business hours, followed by another thorough cleansing and disinfection by FEHD contractors; (e) maintaining the cleanliness of market stalls' ventilating systems; and (f) stepping up inspection, washing and disinfection of public places where wild birds gather and taking stringent enforcement action against feeding of wild birds. in public places.
Starting from 11 April 2013, the CFS collects tissue swabs from 30 poultry in each consignment of live poultry imported from the Mainland for testing for influenza A, covering both H5 and H7 AI (PCR test). More than 13,300 swabs from imported poultry were tested in 2013, with negative results for either H5 or H7 Al. Chickens raised in local farms were also subject to PCR tests and all samples tested negative for H5 or H7 Al.
In 2013, the government temporarily suspended the importation of live poultry or poultry products from those places in the Mainland and overseas with reported Al outbreaks.
On 2 December, a patient was confirmed to have contracted influenza A (H7N9), the first human infection case in Hong Kong. As she had travel and poultry contact history in Shenzhen, as an exceptional and precautionary measure, the government suspended the import of live poultry from Shenzhen from 3 December 2013 until 24 January 2014.
Control of Animal Diseases
As Hong Kong's inspection and quarantine authority for animals, the AFCD regulates cross- boundary animal movements to prevent animal diseases from entering the city. The AFCD also assesses the risk of disease in imported animals and animal products on the basis of their species, intended use and the disease status of the place of origin. The AFCD explains Hong Kong's import requirements to overseas veterinary authorities when necessary.
In 2013, some 6,200 permits were issued for animal imports, which included dogs, cats, horses, reptiles, birds, zoo animals and food animals such as pigs and cattle.
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